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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Embroidery is Fun! (Part 3)

This is my last post on embroidery stitches, and I hope I'm not boring you yet or overwhelming you with photos. You can see, from each of my pictures that I have shared that I am not an expert stitcher. And that is really the best thing about embroidery -- it doesn't have to be perfect to look good. In fact, I think the more "handmade" it looks, the better. Do not be intimidated by this!

Our last two stitches are variations of the Lazy Daisy. The first one I will demonstrate is how you can make petal shapes. I used six threads for this one, so thread your needle and tie a knot on the end. Then bring your thread up through the back side.

You are going to make a loop by going back down into or right next to the same space where your needle came up. Slowly pull the thread through until only a small loop is on top.

Put your needle back up, inside the loop, about a quarter inch from where you started. Pull the thread tight. Your loop will catch on the stitch and will not go through.

Put your needle down just to the other side of the top of the loop. This will tack it in place.

Go around a circle, repeating the same steps to create a flower. You can make as many petals as you want. You've now made your "daisy".

Okay, now let's make a Daisy Chain. It is very similar. First, make your loop.

Come up through the middle of the loop, like you did for your petal, but instead of tacking it down on the other side, you are going to make another loop.

Put your needle back down where you came up in the loop (or right next to it). Pull your thread through, and then putting your needle up through your next loop.

Continue until you have created your chain. When you are finished, just tack the last loop down like the petals. You can see this in the picture below.

Thanks for sticking with me through these embroidery tutorials. You are now ready to start on any simple project. Next week I'm going to show you how to make an embroidered felt Christmas ornament. How would you like to learn to make these?